The Spanish National Research Council[2] (Spanish: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Its main objective is to develop and promote research that will help bring about scientific and technological progress, and it is prepared to collaborate with Spanish and foreign entities in order to achieve this aim.

CSIC plays an important role in scientific and technological policy, since it encompasses an area that takes in everything from basic research to the transfer of knowledge to the productive sector. Its research is driven by its centres and institutes, which are spread across all the autonomous regions. CSIC has 6% of all the staff dedicated to Research and Development in Spain, and they generate approximately 20% of all scientific production in the country.[3] It also manages a range of important facilities; the most complete and extensive network of specialist libraries, and also has joint research units.

Significant latest research by CSIC is the Temperature and Winds for InSight (TWINS) module, which is a component of NASA's InSight Mars lander, which landed successfully on November 26, 2018. TWINS will monitor weather at the Mars landing site.

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The CSIC was created in 1939 by the recently victorious Francoist regime from the assets of the Junta para la Ampliación de Estudios (JAE) (1907–1939), born within the Institución Libre de Enseñanza and inspired in the Krausist philosophy. The initial mandate of the CSIC was to restore the classical and Christian unity of the sciences that was destroyed in the 18th century ("la restauración de la clásica y cristiana unidad de las ciencias destruida en el siglo XVIII").[4][5] From its 1939 foundation to his 1966 death, its head was José María Albareda, one of the first members of the Opus Dei and a close friend of its founder, Josemaría Escrivá. José María Albareda was ordained a priest in 1959, and at his death was succeeded as head of CSIC by Manuel Lora-Tamayo, then the Education minister of Franco.

According to the Statute’s article 5 of CSIC State Agency,[6] the current objectives and functions of the CSIC are:

To carry out scientific and technological research and help to encourage such research, where relevant.

To transfer the results of scientific and technological research to public and private institutions.

To provide scientific-technical services to the General State Administration and public and private institutions.

To boost the creation of technologically based entities and companies.

To help create entities with the ability to oversee the transfer and evaluation of technology.

To train researchers.

To train experts by means of highly specialised courses.

To promote scientific culture in society.

To manage scientific-technical facilities to be used by the scientific research and technological development system.

To participate in international organs and bodies, as requested by the Ministry of Education and Science (the CSIC state agency currently belongs to the Ministry of Science and Innovation).

To participate in national organs and bodies, as requested by the Ministry of Education and Science (the CSIC state agency currently belongs to the Ministry of Science and Innovation).

To participate in designing and implementing the scientific and technological policies of the Ministry of Education and Science (the CSIC state agency currently belongs to the Ministry of Science and Innovation).

To collaborate with other national and international institutions in the promotion and transfer of science and technology, as well as in the creation and development of scientific and technological research centres, institutes and units.

To collaborate with universities in scientific research and technological development activities and in postgraduate education.

To inform, attend and advise public and private entities on science and technology issues.

To train experts in science and technology management.

To collaborate in updating the science and technology knowledge skills of non-university teachers.

To support the execution of the sectorial policies defined by the General State Administration, by preparing technical studies or through applied research activities.

Any other scientific promotion and technological research actions assigned to it by applicable legislation or as commissioned by the Government.

CSIC manages the "Singular Scientific and Technological Infrastructures" (ICTS) which are facilities involving relatively high investment and maintenance costs in relation to R&D investment budgets in their field. The science community and society at large can access them, which is justified by their importance and strategic nature, and for this reason they receive each year many national as well as foreign researchers. These large facilities are recognised and supported by the European Union.